Indian pharma giants eye $200 mln investment in Vietnam

Indian pharma giants SMS Pharmaceuticals and Sri Avantika Contractors aim to invest $200 million in building a high-tech pharmaceutical park in Vietnam that can attract investments of $4-5 billion, executives said Wednesday.

Ramesh Babu, chairman and managing director of SMS Pharmaceuticals, and Narendra Reddy, managing director of Sri Avantika Contractors, presented the park’s proposal at a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh during the latter’s three-day state visit to India.

The two firms and their Vietnamese partner have established a joint venture to prepare for the investment. The facility, within Nghi Son Economic Zone in Vietnam’s central province of Thanh Hoa, can attract $4-5 billion in the next decade for exporting products to the United States and Europe, the executives said.

So far, 50 investors have expressed their interest in investing in the facility, Babu said, adding that Vietnam’s favorable investment environment and dynamic economy were strong attractions.

Also Wednesday, Dharmesh Shah, chairman and founder of BDR Group, told PM Chinh that the firm plans to invest and manufacture medicines in Vietnam.

As the biggest manufacturer of cancer medicine in India with 80% of the market share, BDR currently provides input materials for several medicine factories in Vietnam and is preparing to distribute cancer medicines in the country, he said.

Aiming to become a strategic and long-term investor in Vietnam, BDR was researching suitable areas to invest in Vietnam, alongside making technology transfers, he added.

Welcoming the initiatives of Indian firms, PM Chinh said Vietnam encouraged, facilitated and offered incentives for pharmaceutical investments. Indian products now account for about one-third of the medicine market in Vietnam, he added.

He asked Vietnam’s Ministry of Health and local authorities to cooperate with the Indian firms to deploy the projects. He also urged Indian firms to make suggestions on Vietnam’s ongoing efforts to update its legal framework.

Chinh also emphasized Vietnam’s advantages, including the large population of 100 million, participation in many free trade agreements and abundant materials for medicine production.